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Radio-Frequency Capacitive Gate-based Sensing for Silicon CMOS Quantum Electronics


Type

Thesis

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Authors

Ahmed, Imtiaz 

Abstract

This thesis focuses on implementing radio frequency (rf) reflectometry techniques for dispersive detection of charge and spin dynamics in nanoscale devices. I have investigated three aspects of rf reflectometry using state-of-the-art silicon (Si) complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) nanowire field effect transistors (NWFETs).

First, a high-sensitivity capacitive gate-based charge sensor is developed by optimising the external matching circuit to detect capacitive changes in the high frequency resonator. A new circuit topology is used where superconducting niobium nitride (NbN) inductor is connected in parallel with a single-gate Si NWFET resulting in resonators with loaded Q-factors in the 400-800 range. For a resonator operating at 330 MHz, I have achieved a charge sensitivity of 7.7 μe/Hz and, when operating at 616 MHz, I get 1.3 μe/Hz. This gate-based sensor can be used for fast, accurate and scalable techniques for quantum state readout in Si CMOS based quantum computing.

Second, this new circuit topology for the resonator is used with a dual-gate Si NWFET. This dual-gate device geometry provides access to a double quantum dot (DQD) system in few electron regime. The spin-state of the two-electron DQD system is detected dispersively using Pauli spin blockade between joint singlet S(2,0) and triplet T(1,1) states in a finite magnetic field B. The singlet-triplet relaxation time T1 at B=4.5~T is measured to be $\sim$1 ms using standard homodyne detection technique.

Third, I expand the range of applications of gate-based sensing to accurate temperature measurements. I have experimentally demonstrated a primary thermometer by embedding a single-gate Si NWFET with the rf capacitive gate-based sensor. The thermometer, termed as gate-based electron thermometer (GET), relies on cyclic electron tunneling between discrete energy levels of a quantum dot and a single electron reservoir in the NWFET. I have found that the full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) of the resonator phase response depends linearly with temperature via well known physical law by using the ratio kB/e between the Boltzmann constant and the electron charge. The GET is also found to be magnetic field independent like other primary thermometers such as Coulomb blockade and shot noise thermometers.

Description

Date

2018-11-10

Advisors

Sirringhaus, Henning
Gonzalez-Zalba, Miguel Fernando

Keywords

Gate-based Charge Sensing, Primary Thermometry, Silicon Quantum Computing

Qualification

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Awarding Institution

University of Cambridge

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